Teaching Music at the College Level Seminar at New England Conservatory

Teaching Music at the College Level
Thurs. Nov. 6: 6-7:30 pm Keller room

Do you really NEED a Doctorate?
What are the types of schools that need music faculty?
What kinds of jobs are available?
Come to the workshop and find out:
What employers look for
How to make your applications competitive
How to gain experience now
Cover letters, CVs, interview strategies and more!

About the panelists:

Neil Leonard works as a sound artist, composer and saxophonist. His ensemble featured Marshall Allen, Bruce Barth, Don Byron, Robin Eubanks and Uri Caine. Leonard’s Dreaming of an Island, (for orchestra, electronics and live-video) was premiered by Kirk Trevor and the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra. Leonard's composition Totems was premiered at Carnegie Hall. His Echoes and Footsteps was featured by the Tel Aviv Biennial for New Music, Issue Project Room (NYC) and the Auditorium di Roma. Leonard's collaborative work with visual artist Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons was featured by the 49th Venice Biennial, Museum of Modern Art (NYC); purchased by the National Gallery of Canada; and presented by the U.S. State Department at Dakar Biennial. Leonard composed the music for Relatives, by Tony Oursler and Constance DeJong featured by the Whitney Biennial. Leonard is co-owner of Gallery Artist Studio Project in Boston. In the past year Leonard organized two festivals of electronic music with concerts in Rome, Venice, La Spezia, Siena, Tel Aviv, Haifa, New York and Boston. Leonard is Interim Chair of the Music Synthesis Department and Professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston. He taught sound installation at the University of Padova and the C. Pollini Conservatory, Italy. He has taught courses in electronic music and multimedia at Northeastern University, Massachusetts College of Art and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts.

Pianist Deborah Nemko is on the faculty at Bridgewater State College and also teaches in the NEC Preparatory program. She appears in concerts throughout the United States and Europe as both soloist and collaborative artist. In 2002 she performed the Belgian debut of Diane Goolkasian Rahbee's Sonata No. 2 in the Vresse sur Semois International Festival for Pianists and appeared in concert at Carnegie Hall in Rahbee's Concert in a retrospective of her compositions in 2004. Her performance of Rahbee's Preludes from her compact disc Preludes and Toccatinas was featured on Radio Mona Lisa, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and on The Classical Discoveries Radio Program, Princeton. A champion of contemporary music, composers Dianne Rahbee, Scott Brickman and Justin Rubin have written works for her. Dr. Nemko is a frequent adjudicator for the New England Conservatory Preparatory Program's Concerto Competition, the Music Teachers National Association Arizona, and Massachusetts State Competitions. Much in demand for her teaching as well as performances, she has conducted master-classes at Buffalo State College, Chapman University, and at Greenfields Chamber Music Institute, Vermont. She is currently on the faculty of the New England Conservatory's Piano Preparatory Program. Dr. Nemko regularly presents papers and lecture recitals at the International Conference on Arts and Humanities, the International Festival of Women Composers, the College Music Society National and Regional Conferences, MTNA National Conference and the Schubert Club. Dr. Nemko was on the faculty of the International Piano Week, Belgium, from 2001-2005. She is currently the president of the Northeast Region of the College Music Society.

Oliver Chamberlain is the former co-chair of the Composition and History Department in theCollege of Musical Arts at Bowling Green State University and the former Executive Director of the Center for the Arts at the Universityof Massachusetts Lowell. Chamberlain has been president of New England Presenters, Merrimack Lyric Opera and Indian Hill Music Center. He has helped a number of people edit their applications, including his own daughter who has just begun the position of associate production manager at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. He gained experience in teaching, publishing, directing and performing before applying to a university. He has coached people prepare cover letters, CVs and interviews. He has been published on the subjects of medieval motets, computer projection of arts center revenue, arts marketing and pricing the performing arts. He holds graduate degrees in Choral Conducting from NEC, in Music History from Brandeis University and in Arts Administration from the American University in Washington, D. C. He has interests in collecting American art glass, designing gardens and is a prize-winning photographer.

Eric Hewitt serves as the music director and conductor of The Boston Conservatory Wind Ensemble, as well as chair of the woodwind department. He also serves as music director and conductor of the White Rabbit avant-garde ensemble, which is the ensemble-in-residence at Harvard University, and the Charles River Wind Ensemble in Watertown, MA. As a saxophonist, Eric Hewitt has presented critically acclaimed premieres by Luciano Berio, Gunther Schuller, Christian Lauba, and dozens of young and up-and-coming composers. He has been a soloist with nine Boston area ensembles, including the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the FROMM Players at Harvard, and the New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble and has been featured as soloist on tours to Japan, Venezuela, and Cuba. He is also a member of the Radnofsky Saxophone Quartet. Mr. Hewitt recorded the Donald Martino Saxophone Concerto in piano reduction (previously unreleased), working with Dr. Martino at the sessions, and has recorded the saxophone quartet music of Iannis Xenakis and Franco Donatoni. He was a member of the Ryles Jazz Orchestra from 2000 until 2004 and performed with jazz legends such as Arturo Sandoval, John Faddis, Bob Brookmeyer, Ed Calle, George Garzone, Frank Vardarous, Jerry Bergonzi, Slide Hampton, George Russell, Marvin Stam, and Phil Wilson.